


Maybe You Shouldn't

by Artemaes_Jones



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: A "what if Qui Gon never died and took Darth Maul as a padawan" fic, All these people need a hug, Not to be taken very serious, Palpatine is v sus, Qui Gon Jinn being a dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24447916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemaes_Jones/pseuds/Artemaes_Jones
Summary: Or a fic in which Qui Gon doesn't die, Maul gets a name, Anakin gets a father, and Obi Wan never gets a break. Featuring small drabbles from various parts of the timeline, now including Qui Gon!
Relationships: Qui Gon Jinn & Anakin Skywalker, Qui Gon Jinn & Being the dad he always wanted to be, Qui Gon Jinn & Darth Maul, Qui Gon Jinn & Obi Wan Kenobi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 52





	1. We Begin

If there was one thing that Qui Gon Jinn was sure of, it was that fighting a sith lord on Naboo was the last thing he really felt like doing. Heck, even going to pick up Anakin was a better trip than this one was turning out, and even he disliked the constant anger that bubbled on the surface of Tatooine. Of course, he was a little distracted by the literal power vacuum that is the young boy Anakin, and the fact that he was struggling with explaining why exactly he took it upon himself to free the boy and take him along if he was only allowed one padawan. He could hear Yoda’s complaints now, about how it would be dangerous, how the balance of master and padawan could be destroyed with another thrown into the mix. Maybe he could argue that Obi Wan is ready to become a master, thus allowing Qui Gon to teach Anakin and be the proper father figure the boy deserves.

That is, of course, if he can figure out how to survive an encounter with one angry red sith lord. Which, being a master prodigy and an old padawan of one Count Dooku, Qui Gon is quite certain that he can beat the angry, two blade wielding sith that is currently trying to both stab him and his padawan. 

“Great.” He thinks as he bats away the red saber. “How the heck am I supposed to do this.”

The opportunity, of course, comes when a force field blocks Obi Wan from entering the fight. Now it is just angry red guy and Qui Gon, the man who really doesn’t want to be fighting. It was a simple and easy solution to him, though. Cut off one of the angry boy’s arms, and boom, no more having to fight. This went about as well as he thought it would, which is saying that now there was a very  _ sad _ red guy kneeling before him grabbing his cauterized wound. 

“You cut off my freaking arm!” Sad red boy stated, which was quite strange because in all of Qui Gon’s experiences and fights he found that normally sith are rather prideful and would grab their saber, the one currently at his feet, and stab him.

Red boy, of course, was not a normal sith then. Instead he began to cry, which was quite a scene to witness because who would have thought a spiky boy, Zabrak, sorry, would have ever expressed such an emotion in front of the very person they were trying to murder. Qui Gon looked past the boy and met the very confused eyes of his padawan, who seemed conflicted in ending the life of the currently crying sith, or- well, comforting him? Does one do that for an enemy? Qui Gon just shrugged and knelt to comfort the crying spiky boy, rubbing his back. 

“Uh, sorry? You were trying to kill us though, so it is justified.” He said, and the boy glared at him and then sighed.

“I- I guess so. Sorry too? I really truly thought it would be easier to kill you both. My master said you would be an easier kill.”

Qui Gon was a little offended, to be honest. Though Yoda always did benefit from people doubting him, so he guessed maybe he had benefited from the spiky boy’s underestimate. Heck, he could have died and who knows what would happen then! Maybe… no, Qui Gon preferred to focus on the now than the what-ifs. And the now saw him secretly ebbing the lightsaber down into the ventilation shaft, where it found its home with one crispy sith arm. 

The real question, of course, was what does one do with a one-armed sith? Especially a one-armed sith sent by another that was probably closer to a father than they should have been. Hm. No, that would totally wreck his Anakin plans™ and would leave his poor student bogged down with the boy he planned on training himself. Unless, unless of course he would still be a father figure to Anakin and Obi Wan would be his master. That could work. Yeah.

Patting the spiky boy on the back, Qui Gon Jinn stood up and dusted himself off before offering his hand to him. “Say, how would you like to be my apprentice instead, oh, and we’ll get you a new arm.”

Both spiky boy, who he remembers now to be some Darth Maul, which will have to change of course, and his padawan looked at him like he had sprouted a second head or had been a changeling all along. Of course, he wasn’t, and of course he was doing what he always enjoyed doing, building a nice and safe habitat for Padawan 2™ in order to both entertain himself and fulfill his desire in being a Father Figure. Maybe he really should have introduced Obi Wan to Dooku before ever venturing out with him, if only for Dooku to get his young padawan up to speed with how he rolls. 

“I really do mean it, Obi Wan, you know that you will be a master in just a few weeks, and I can always argue about the validity of testing if an adult can indeed go from padawan to master if not introduced young. Plus, I think if Maul’s master got word that he both failed and lost an arm, he would be dead.” Obi Wan looked whiter than usual, and much like he regretted coming on this mission as well. 

That’s fine, only the opinion of one very spiky boy really mattered, and he looked very much into the idea of not dying. Qui Gon tapped his lip in thought before snapping his fingers. “I got it! Tarek! A good Zabrak name for a random apprentice found in Naboo.”

Newly- ordained Tarek seemed pleased by that fact, if only because for the first time in a long time he owned a name, and nodded before rising up with Qui Gon’s help. “That’ll, uh, do I guess?”

To say that the adventure that was had on Naboo was unproductive would in fact be a mistruth, since that day Anakin destroyed the mothership, Qui Gon got a new padawan, Tarek got a name, and Obi Wan finally got a clue as to how Qui Gon truly works. That is to say, there was quite a bit of paperwork following the trip to Naboo, and no one wanted to fill it out.

One such report was from Qui Gon, who had decided to stay back with Tarek in case he decided to back out of their new agreement, about the new chancellor being way too friendly with poor Anakin, who seemed too overwhelmed to really respond. It stated that saying he had a vested interest in Anakin’s career was very very suspicious and should probably be looked into if something bad were to happen.

This report was very quickly sent into the archives where it waited until a twenty-year old Anakin stumbled upon it with an older Tarek by his side. But that, of course, is for later and much like Qui Gon, this story focuses on the moment. And the main moment is a very angry Yoda with Qui Gon and his three little ducklings in tow.

“Have three apprentices you cannot. Only one allowed per master there is.” He seemed a bit miffed.

“Master Yoda, as I have previously stated, Obi Wan will become a master in a few weeks, you said so yourself. Tarek will become my next padawan while Anakin becomes Obi Wan’s padawan. We’ll train side-by-side so that Obi Wan knows how to properly teach Anakin, and Tarek already has been fitted for a moving prosthetic.” Missions Apprentice 2™ and Become a Father Figure™ were already far underway as they were talking, and honestly all Qui Gon wanted was for them to go and figure out how to reintroduce Jedi ideals on a very sith child. This was not going to be pretty.

“Fine.” Yoda said, and Qui Gon was quite honestly surprised. “Run this by the council I will. Say it has already be done I shall.”

“Thank you, Master Yoda.” Qui Gon Jinn and his hoard of students bowed to the master, who simply huffed and walked away.

As he left Qui Gon lifted his hands to be high-fived by his new children and smiled at Obi Wan, who simply shook his head in exasperation.

Oh yeah, this was gonna be so much fun.


	2. You really shouldn't have done that

In simple terms, it was not very fun. Obi Wan Kenobi had grown up within the Jedi Order, had  _ plans _ . Plans that included being a master and one day officially choosing and teaching a padawan. Plans that did not include having a padawan forced upon him by his master while another padawan, mainly the same man  _ who tried to kill them _ , was taught and incorporated into the order. This was not how he wanted it, and frankly he should have suspected something like this.

Of course, that is to say, he wasn’t ungrateful for his master still being alive. Those few moments separated by a force field and having to witness his master almost die were terrifying, up until Qui Gon Jinn performed the wildest lightsaber maneuver he had ever witnessed, all to cut off the arm of his potential killer. The moments after that, with his master actually comforting their enemy, were the most confusing of his life, including when he was also told that he would be teaching the young boy Qui Gon had freed from slavery. He had tried to emphasize the dangers of a very new Jedi master teaching someone who was way too old the ways of the Force, but Qui Gon simply shrugged and patted him on the head. 

“Master, don’t you think you are being way too trusting of that sith? He tried to kill us.”

“Everything tries to kill us, Obi Wan, it’s in the description of being a Jedi.”

“Yes, but he literally tried to kill us. He was apprenticed to Darth Sidious. Don’t you think that means he’ll try again, or use his access to destroy us?” Obi Wan was really at his limit, mainly because they were slowly marching to where the two new members of their group were waiting for them.

“He won’t.” Qui Gon simply stated before patting Obi Wan’s shoulder and opening the door to the waiting room, a big smile on his face. “Hello Tarek, Anakin, how are you two doing?”

Tarek and Anakin were not doing too terrible for once. They both were used to being treated as fodder, expecting to one day never be heard of again, and so they were able to bond over the idea of someone actually caring where they were, someone actually enjoying their presence. This formed a small camaraderie between the boys, even though Anakin still felt a little weirded out by the fact that this was the same guy who once tried to kill Padme. 

“We’re fine, Master.” They both replied simultaneously.

“That’s good.” Okay, the speaking in unison was new, but not unheard of at least. Maybe Obi Wan could work with that… or maybe Qui Gon shouldn’t assume anything about his apprentice, especially with the look he was giving the boys. 

As it turns out, speaking in unison for padawans was not supposed to be common, and Yoda thought that maybe, in some timeline, Anakin would have traversed the dark path and become just like Tarek. That, of course, is not the timeline the group has found themselves in. No, this timeline included a robot arm for Tarek and an actual father figure for one Anakin Skywalker. A father figure, who at this current moment was looking down at a pile of boys and an angrily beeping robot.

“What is going on here?” He asked, trying and failing to keep a smile off of his face.

Anakin was the one to answer. “Uh- nothing?”

“We were trying to see what would happen if we attached magnets to the floor and to R2-D2 and see if he could hover.” Tarek responded, having the decency to look a little bit ashamed, or he was also trying to hide his amusement.

“And what was your conclusion, young padawans?” Ok, he was full on chuckling now, especially at the fact that it appeared the boys were stuck together underneath R2. Lifting the robot off gently from the pile, he reached his hand down to help up Tarek and then Anakin.

“That next time we should use the wall instead of the floor?” Anakin supplied, and Tarek nodded with him.

Qui Gon just laughed a little louder. “I suppose that would be an answer. I was thinking more about making sure your experiment involves a  _ willing _ participant.” 

R2-D2 beeped his agreement, before speeding off to a different part of the Jedi Temple, followed by multiple exclamations of other padawans and masters. Tarek and Anakin both looked at the fleeing bot, ashamed of not considering how he felt, before Qui Gon put a hand on both of their shoulders.

“It is always important to consider others feelings. You must take time to understand how your actions affect those around you before you can truly utilize the force.” 

So Qui Gon may have used their mistake to teach them something. What can he say this is way easier than forcing your padawan onto a volcano planet so they could learn to chill ‘ _ for once in your life, c’mon Obi Wan _ ’. Plus it didn’t involve lava monsters or sith, minus Tarek, but he hardly counted as one anymore. Especially since he had seemed to bloom under the teachings and chaotic nature of Qui Gon, which Obi Wan definitely was not happy about and “ _ No I’m not jealous Master, I’m just concerned.” _

Of course, of course, and he wasn’t currently in the long term plan of having three wild children wreaking havoc across their galaxy. That plan, the Master Plan™ was a fifteen hundred step plan that may or may not involve destroying all of the slave trade on Tattoine. Of course, if Obi Wan was not going to go along with this clearly chaotic form of teaching, Qui Gon probably would need to extend his plan a few hundred steps in order to acclimate Obi Wan.

Needless to say, Qui Gon Jinn did not need to add those steps to his plan. In fact, as he stood with Tarek in the hanger as Obi Wan and Anakin flew in from a training mission, he knew immediately that Obi Wan had taken his ways. Mainly because they didn’t necessarily  _ fly _ in, they really  _ crashed _ into the hanger and both did backflips to exit the burning wreckage of their two ships.

“That was awesome, Master!” Anakin exclaimed as he and Obi Wan high-fived.

Okay, so the plan was going along just nicely, maybe he didn’t have to worry two much, especially since it has only been about three months since The Event™ that brought them all together. The paperwork, on the other hand,  _ was _ not in his plan, mainly because he was very shocked to walk into his personal room only to see Master Yoda standing there with a giant stack of paper and a wide smile on his face.

“Fill out paperwork, you must. Do Alone, Obi Wan cannot.” And with that Master Yoda dropped the pile into his hands and left.

Doesn’t matter, though, Qui Gon still knew that even if there were regrets now, there wouldn’t be regrets later, when all his children brought more fun into the galaxy.


	3. You Are My Dad, Boogie Woogie Woogie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which many things happen and chaos is a natural state of being for this odd family.

Ok, so, Tarek never really meant to get as far as he had originally. Truth be told, he knew the minute ‘Mister Wrinkles’, as he so affectionately named him in the months after the Event ™, had told him to go to Naboo and kill the Queen and two annoying Jedis that it was going to be the end for one Darth Maul. He had expected a big fight, lots of lightsaber swishing (and ok, maybe a dramatic song or two playing in the background of his made-up plan) with him being able to at least kill one of the Jedi in the end. That, of course, was sidetracked very quickly with the loss of his arm and the invitation to not actually die.  
Honestly he never expected Master Yoda, or small green grandpa, to approve and send him off to train with Qui Gon and Obi Wan and a small boy with a bob haircut. He was really amazed to learn how the Jedi valued their cultures, but learned not to become obsessed with only one side of their identity. Tarek really liked that part, especially because it meant he could learn all about the different people and species that lived and learned at the Jedi Temple, and he could learn even more about himself.  
That was the most terrifying and thrilling part about joining forces with Qui Gon, learning about who he was and what the planet was like where he came from. At a very young age he was given to Darth Sidious and never told about his home, so being able to sit and learn about his planet and his kind made Tarek really grateful. He spent hours pouring over myths and tales of his homeworld, and even more discussing what he had learned with Anakin, who seemed so interested in learning about other planets, but less about reading.  
They had gotten close, something that Tarek really didn’t expect to happen, and started to call each other brother after a few months. It was awkward at first, calling Anakin something that he definitely wasn’t, but eventually Tarek realized they may actually be brothers. Well, ok, maybe just because he had reasoned that Qui Gon was very much so a father-figure to them both, and therefore they were brothers.  
This thought process, though, was really what caused one Obi Wan Kenobi to suffer a heart attack.  
It had started out as a regular mission, after both he and Anakin were approved as padawans and were allowed to go with Obi Wan and Qui Gon. Well, a mission where they had to secretly infiltrate a base that was supposedly smuggling weapons to drug lords across the planet in order to cause chaos and overthrow the current government. This wasn’t really a challenge for the four of them, who were decidedly only allowed to go on missions together because they were just that problematic.  
It wasn’t a challenge until they finally got the bombs set up and were evacuating innocents that had been blackmailed into helping smuggle items and a fire-fight had started. Unluckily, Anakin just so happened to be the one closest to the enemies, and was distracted with helping a young boy find his way out to notice a gun being pointed. That was until Tarek, in a full panic called out “Brother, behind you!” and Anakin turned around just in time to catch Tarek’s lightsaber and deflect the bolt of energy.  
Obi Wan, meanwhile, had full-on frozen for half a second before grabbing his own lightsaber and entering the fight. He only had one thought and that was “Oh no. I hope Qui Gon didn’t hear that.”  
Qui Gon, in fact, had not heard that. He was too preoccupied with his own enemies to hear his two sons call each other brother, and way too focused on how much time was left on the bombs. A shame, really.  
He was, though, very confused. After the battle was over, and all of his sons were gathered together near their ships, he took a glance at all of them and saw the embarrassment that flashed across Tarek’s face. Was it because he tripped at the beginning since he hadn’t been checking for wires at the loading dock? Or did he get hurt? Oh no. Not one of his sons.  
Tarek, on the other hand, was enduring a very knowing glance from Obi Wan, and was not prepared for Qui Gon Jinn rushed forward and started to check him over.  
“Baba!” He exclaimed as Qui Gon checked his robotic prosthetic, and immediately shut his mouth when he did so. Anakin laughed, and Tarek glared at him. Curse his needless sharing about his culture and his language.  
Qui Gon looked up at him and dropped his arm, “Sorry, Tarek, I was worried about you. You looked very strange and I was worried you were hurt and trying to pretend you weren’t.”  
“Ah.” Tarek coughed and smiled. “I am fine, I promised. I learned my lesson from last time.”  
“Have you, really?” Obi Wan looked at him mischievously and Tarek raised his eyebrow at that.  
“Uh, yes.” He looked to Anakin to see if he could give any clues, but the young padawan was simply focused on the ships, trying to fix a part of it that must have been broken off when he and Obi Wan landed. “Especially since Qui Gon wouldn’t let me anywhere out of his sight for a week afterwards.”  
“You weren’t truthful and I was concerned. Now come on, I am sure Master Yoda would like a report on what has occurred.”  
\-----  
Master Yoda, as it turned out, indeed wanted a report on the events of their mission. He also wanted a report on the two brothers, and so he requested Obi Wan to stay behind while the others were allowed to rest.  
“Become close, they have. Like brothers, they are.” He nodded, and Obi Wan smiled.  
“Yes, you should have seen poor Tarek when Anakin was in trouble, he would have done anything to save his brother.”  
“Hm. Fear that, I do. Teach them compassion for those who aren’t family, you and Qui Gon must. Rising, the Dark side is.” Yoda looked out the window of his office in the temple, aware of the young Master behind him. He sighed as a ship flew past. “Feel it, I do. Coming, Danger is.”  
“Well then, we best start their training. Thank you, Master Yoda. I shall tell Qui Gon of your feelings and begin working with Anakin on his compassion.” Obi Wan nodded, and went to open the door.  
Yoda held up his hand at that, and Obi Wan paused. “See his mother, Anakin must. Time to see her again, it is.”  
“Of course, Master Yoda.” And with that, Obi Wan left, a plan already forming in his mind.  
Perhaps it would be good for all of them to go to Tatooine. Who knows what may happen.


	4. Things Could Go Off the Rails, Or Not.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tatooine meets the Family (TM) and so does Anakin's actually family. Sand meet Chaos.

Ha ha ha, oh no. Things didn't go well on Tatooine. At least, not for Obi Wan, who had to find some way to restrain all three of the chaos beings that had become his family. Obi Wan constantly had to keep an eye on Anakin, who was determined to rush off and find his mother when Watto said she had been sold. Tarek, on the other hand, had to be taken somewhere else because the minute he saw that Anakin was hurt by Watto’s statement, he lunged forward, ready to threaten him for more information.  
It didn’t work, of course, and Qui- Gon instead showed him the different parts that made up a pod racer. Tarek was totally entranced with the idea of racing, and begged to watch a race. He especially became excited when Qui- Gon mentioned how Anakin used to race in them and imagined how exciting it must be for the children of the planet. Of course, Qui- Gon did not have the heart to tell him that the races weren’t really meant for children. Or that Anakin wasn’t even allowed to race in the first place.  
A good thing, really, because with the way Tarek acted before Obi Wan would have expected half of Tatooine to be dead by the end of their visit. Newly refurbished Jedi or not.  
Luckily, Obi Wan was able to rein in Anakin and took him to his mother, who had not actually become a slave and instead had become a wife. Which, Anakin remarked before being smacked, was sort of the same thing wasn’t it? Oh dear, Obi Wan had quite a road ahead of him if this was anything to go by. Jedi law could go fly itself into one of Tatooine’s suns, Obi was going to teach Anakin about how marriage is a consensual relationship that is formed on love, not ownership.  
Across the universe, as he was meditating, one green Jedi master felt something akin to a disturbance within the force. He ignored it, in favor of instead continuing his “meditation” *cough* nap *cough*.  
Anyways, Anakin’s mom was perfectly fine, and instead very happy with her life now. She was very excited to see her son, and surprised to find out that he had adopted a brother named Tarek. This new brother, who she would later meet after Qui- Gon had finished distracting him and drove him to where Anakin and Obi Wan were, was very spiky and very happy to have a mother that did not want to hand him off to evil Sith McGee. Whenever they first encountered each other, before Anakin could even say “Here is my mother.”, Tarek had swept her up in a giant hug and swung her around.  
This was quite a sight to her husband, who simply sat down and smiled at Qui- Gon. “So y’all are gonna stay fer a bit, yeah?”  
Qui- Gon nodded and gestured to their home. “You have quite a lovely home, I must say. Are there any dangers?”  
“Ah, uh, yes. Just some Tusken Raiders that come and go, though they normally don’t bother us.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.  
That was not the thing to say in the presence of three very chaotic, very threatening Jedis and one protecting mother hen. Mainly because suddenly the group began planning how to ward off the raiders and how to fortify their home. Tarek and Qui- Gon would handle the “negotiations” while Obi Wan and Anakin would help fortify the homestead. And distract Anakin’s mom and stepfather from discovering what was going on the whole time.  
Surprisingly, the plan worked. Unsurprisingly, it happened in a way that no one really could predict.  
The Tusken Raiders, in all their chaotic and raiding nature, were in fact a very respectful people, and had explained to Qui- Gon and Tarek that they were only making sure the homestead did not encroach on their territories, since they had been pushed out of different areas due to pod racing. This in turn harmed their trading and caused many to suggest raiding only those who had trespassed, even if they did not know they had done so. Perhaps, they mentioned off-handedly, if nothing was done within the next few years, all of them would have delved into a hunger and blood lust so severe they would trespass themselves.  
But, of course, that had not happened, and instead the traders were eager to be brought to the homestead to both make a deal on borders and on how trade may fare with those that occupied the lands. Qui- Gon and Tarek both nodded, pretended to drink the very strange smelling tea, and proceeded to throw it over their shoulders when no one was looking. With this idea, the raiders were excited to finally go and meet the strange people who inhabited near them, and finally have some trade that wasn’t with sleazy businessmen.  
Obi Wan, in all his goodness, had foregone fortifying the homestead and had instead sat Anakin down, with his mother, to explain what marriage really was and how he couldn’t constantly view things as owned and owner. The boy, now a teenager, took the lesson pretty well, and had apologized to his mother for thinking such things, if only because his new stepfather was looking at him with a soft glaze, as if he was already planning how to incorporate the boy into his family. Anakin liked that, but he wanted to become a true master and had declined if only until he did. This deal would work in his favor, years and years later when his two wild children were able to be babysat by their grandmother and step grandfather as he went about fulfilling his duties. But again, that would not come about until much, much later. And much like Qui- Gon, Anakin liked to dwell in the Now, and not the To Come.  
And right now, there were several Tusken Raiders approaching the un-fortified homestead, with two Jedis running seemingly ahead of them.  
“Oh dear.” Obi Wan said, and Anakin nodded. “Seems they brought trouble.”  
If, of course, trouble was in the form of twenty Tusken Raiders who were now very very excited to meet the strange man and his wife, and who were chattering in their tongue at them, only pausing every so often to allow Qui- Gon, who was ever grateful in his studies of very random languages, take that Count Dooku, to translate.  
Cliegg Lars, and Shmi Skywalker, simply looked on in amazement as a trade deal was slowly formed between their homestead and the raiders. Their look grew even more surprised when the raiders offered them a place in their clan, if only as honorary members to provide any protection that may be warranted from those that could seek to harm them. Okay, even Qui- Gon looked shocked at that, and had a very confused look on his face as he said, and then repeated, and then double-checked what the raiders were saying.  
Their leader was very proud of themself as they stated their reasoning, that having some strange people in their clan would make them stronger, and would allow those that traded with Cliegg to also trade with them. Plus, they would then technically have four, FOUR, Jedi within their clan as well, which was always a bonus. It would make history, and they enjoyed actually having a non- raider speak with them in their native tongue.  
So, with that shocking statement, and a confused look on all of the Jedis’ faces, a deal that would essentially change the fate of the universe was struck, and the Chaos Family grew quite a few sizes that day.  
Oh, and years later at Anakin’s and Padme’s wedding, a young Tusken Raider would be their flower person and would happily declare themselves the sibling of one Anakin Skywalker as they did so. The other raiders would cheer happily as well- and would ask over and over at the reception if they could have the honor of teaching their language to the Skywalker’s future children. Both Anakin and Padme said yes, with a very pleased look on their face as Qui-Gon Jinn pouted at not having the bragging rights to having taught their first language. Curse his terrible, terrible betting habits.  
Tarek, on the other hand, would enjoy the many, many stories he was able to tell, and the multiple young children that wanted to hear him.  
Okay, so maybe, just maybe, adventuring to Tatooine wasn’t such a bad thing. For the FamilyTM at least. For old Sith McGee and club? Ha.


	5. An Artoo Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we get to hear from the lovely droid Artoo, who gives a short little introspection and sets up some stuff. 
> 
> Enjoy.

This whole time, the whole time from when Tarek joined the FamilyTM to the Tatooine adventure, Artoo had been beside the FamilyTM and was fully and utterly enjoying themselves. They loved Anakin’s chaotic attitude and wild plans, and having three more people who also embody chaos bond with them really heightened their love of the family.

They had watched as Tarek bonded with Anakin, nodding in robot approval of how he approached and treated Anakin. They may have also enjoyed scaring the different small padawans, and Master Yoda, from time to time when Anakin left them at the temple. Yet, when they had heard that the FamilyTM was going to Tatooine, the home of Artoo’s friend, C3PO. Luckily, Artoo was allowed to come along, and spent the whole trip relaxing and joking with C3PO. C3PO was a little shocked when the little astromech told him about the FamilyTM and all of their hijinks, but he was also very proud of Anakin and almost went off to tell his mother, except Artoo stopped him with the reminder that many of the missions were actually very very dangerous. He relented and they spent the rest of the time astonished at the fact that the raiders were actually very kind and especially loved to talk with C3PO who could translate what they were saying as well as reply in their language.

Artoo was going as if C3PO could come with them, but the Raiders had told the jedi that they would love to have the droid translate for them whenever they came to the homestead, especially because he would be the only one able to. Anakin, droid makers bless his teenage soul, told Artoo that they would be able to visit often, after they journeyed back to the temple and he was able to take his test to become a Jedi Master. They beeped at him in agreement, and sadly went back to the ship.

So, like, the whole Jedi Master thing? Artoo somewhat knew the minute they had seen Padme Amidala on the landing platform to the Jedi Temple, looking nervous, that those plans were probably never really coming to pass. Teenage boy, meet hormones. Little loyal droid, meet temporary disappointment. 

They sat through awkward conversations, beeped angrily at some angry old man who kept trying to get near Anakin, and sat with Tarek while he watched his younger brother interact with the newly appointed senator. All throughout this, they recounted the various times they had overheard the masters talking, trying to see if they had ever discussed marriage and romance. Maybe all the masters were married, maybe they were single, Artoo didn’t know and really didn’t care, they just wanted to make sure that their boy would be happy and not go one hundred percent crazy if someone *cough cough* the high council of jerks *cough cough* were to destroy his dreams. 

It would be very hilarious if Artoo could convince them to allow Anakin to get married, perhaps through blackmail? They had the ability to take footage… hm that weird old man was approaching again and they could feel Tarek practically growling as he approached. That. That would not do.


End file.
